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drmike

100% Tier-1 Gogent
I love bicycles.  I ride an urban commuter with internal gearing, rear rack with bags, front Shimano dynamo hub.... A rear red LED light strip I cobbled together and a 900 lumen front light that runs from a 12v pack I made.

My other active rider is a two wheeled recumbent made by Sun.  100+ PSI tires.  Read rack and bags.  Similar front and rear taillights  I made.  I think I have 3 headlights on there currently.  About 1500 lumens.  Rear light is probably 100+ lumens and I have side SMD light strips on both sides that probably do 200 lumens per side.  No one can claim they can't see me on the road.   The headlights are bright enough that I get high beam flashed at night time.  Beam width on the 900 lumen lamp is 180 degrees, while the two other front lights are more like 65 degree spots.

Packing a solar trip computer on that and some other accessories.  It's a never ending project.

Have another 4-5 project bikes :)
 

MannDude

Just a dude
vpsBoard Founder
Moderator
Damn, nice sounding whips buffalooed.

I walk. It's good for you. I see things on the way.

Plus my last car broke down on the outskirts of St. Louis. It was a 2001 Honda Accord LX. All the bells and whistles. It served as my home for two days while I awaited rescue from a family member, haha. Haven't replaced this car yet.
 

drmike

100% Tier-1 Gogent
Bikes are great, but carrying cargo / groceries /etc. is a serious problem. 

I have an exotic Xtracycle project that lingers in my bike workspace.  It's a bolt on sub frame that extends the bike length to about the rough size of a Harley dressed up motorcycle.   With the Xtracycle you can tow 250 pounds and it has sidebags and I have the bottom cargo slings for strapping boxes down and bulky stuff.  I've done beer runs on it.  Works best with two cases balanced on each side.  Yeah, mine is many years old and not the odd stuff on their site now :)  http://www.xtracycle.com/

Oh yeah, that bike has a gas motor which I get 350 MPG out of and it does 35MPH and climbs mountains.   Now to get it to stop breaking spokes --- it's a direct drive belt setup.  Bunch of other custom work on that bike too.  Custom mounts, handlebar expansion bar for accessories, dual fuel can mounts (camping fuel bottles in dual water bottle cages), etc.

My city commuter has a kid style bike trailer I take out when heading to farmers market.   The trailer actually is chromolly (steel) and has a hard back seat that folds into a flat surface for boxes and things.   Pretty alright for an throwaway.  Had to improvise with the mount though since it was long gone / missing.
 

MannDude

Just a dude
vpsBoard Founder
Moderator
Bikes are great, but carrying cargo / groceries /etc. is a serious problem. 

I have an exotic Xtracycle project that lingers in my bike workspace.  It's a bolt on sub frame that extends the bike length to about the rough size of a Harley dressed up motorcycle.   With the Xtracycle you can tow 250 pounds and it has sidebags and I have the bottom cargo slings for strapping boxes down and bulky stuff.  I've done beer runs on it.  Works best with two cases balanced on each side.  Yeah, mine is many years old and not the odd stuff on their site now :)  http://www.xtracycle.com/

Oh yeah, that bike has a gas motor which I get 350 MPG out of and it does 35MPH and climbs mountains.   Now to get it to stop breaking spokes --- it's a direct drive belt setup.  Bunch of other custom work on that bike too.  Custom mounts, handlebar expansion bar for accessories, dual fuel can mounts (camping fuel bottles in dual water bottle cages), etc.

My city commuter has a kid style bike trailer I take out when heading to farmers market.   The trailer actually is chromolly (steel) and has a hard back seat that folds into a flat surface for boxes and things.   Pretty alright for an throwaway.  Had to improvise with the mount though since it was long gone / missing.
Still better than just buying what you can comfortably physically carry in one trip. Certain days I'll make a trip to the store in the AM and then again in the PM to get what I need.

I'm no stranger to bikes, used to BMX for many years and would build my own. Lace my own wheels and all that, last bike was around $1,200 or so custom. It's more or less in parts now as I've gotten older, can't ride a 20" BMX anymore. Been thinking of building a 24" or 26" hardtail MTB though.

Downtown is full of hills, so I need to get a nice little geared bike for that. Well, I guess a fixed gear would work with the proper gear ratio but it's still a PITA to pedal up hills on a fixed gear.

What would you recommend for a decent road bike with saddle bags and a basket?
 

drmike

100% Tier-1 Gogent
I recommend shopping the local Craigslist or similar.  Ebay is good too.  Lots of find bikes people with liberal spending buy and never ride.  

I only buy used bikes :)  Like everything else, lose mass value day one.

I'd keep eyes on Ebay for a Yuba Mundo, Xtracycle, etc.  All are cargo bikes and derived from the Xtracycle.   Surly Big Dummy is a rigid full bike on the design and Surly and just simply awesome.

Outdoor store REI has some nice house brands modeled under Novara brand.

I highly recommend the Xtra's and derivatives since people buy those sometimes and can't sell them locally so can be quite the deal (not everyone wants one).

Bike accessories get mighty expensive.  So getting a full setup on the cheap is a big saver.  Rear cargo packs are umm small and oh $50-100 + the rack.

Check Xtracycle site out. They now have a sidecar rig for the frame :) Would make keg transports possible, well easier.

Ebay: cargo bicycle
 

drmike

100% Tier-1 Gogent
PS: If you get back into biking @MannDude and don't get an Xtracycle, you can make do with the kids trailer for store runs.  They tend to carry around 100 pounds.  Large long stuff is an issue, like lumber, conduit, etc.

When you outgrow those, there are these:

http://www.bikesatwork.com/bike-trailers/customers

That's how I roll.
 
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MannDude

Just a dude
vpsBoard Founder
Moderator
MannDude got a hot new whip. New project bike. These are the 'before' photos, I'll post some 'after' photos after I clean her up and give her some TLC.

c05TA83.jpg

n4eE8fH.jpg


$30 well spent, I think. Toying with the idea of putting an engine/motor on it.
 
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Coastercraze

Top Thrill
Verified Provider
I drive a 2103 Buick Verano Luxo Blue Metallic (1SG with sunroof). I'll upload some pics when I snap some. Bought it back in May (memorial day sale) with GM employee pricing, tax, title, etc for about $25k. Gets pretty good gas mileage which is great since my commute to work is about 20 miles each way. Only downside to the blue is that it gets dirty pretty quickly.
 

BuyCPanel-Kevin

New Member
Verified Provider
I drive a 528i e39, from 1998 plus a subwoofer in the back, which I'm very proud of ;)

BMW_528i__Manual__E39_2001___White_125131495.JPG
 
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DomainBop

Dormant VPSB Pathogen
My annual spending for gasoline is $0. The monthly cost to park a car here is more than it costs to rent an apartment in many cities.  $300-$800 for an outdoor parking space, $600-$1500 for a space in a parking garage with a roof. 
 

MannDude

Just a dude
vpsBoard Founder
Moderator
My annual spending for gasoline is $0. The monthly cost to park a car here is more than it costs to rent an apartment in many cities.  $300-$800 for an outdoor parking space, $600-$1500 for a space in a parking garage with a roof. 
Screw that.

I did own a 'nice' 2001 Honda Accord LX. Had all the features. Leather seats, moon roof, six disc CD changer, the works. Last year it broke down on me on the outskirts of St. Louis and due to my financial situation at the time I couldn't get it fixed, and after sleeping in it for two nights (was 300+~ from home) I abandoned it and later got a check for the scrap value of the car (around $300, aka 1/10th the value). It may have been an easy fix. Anyhow, back to my home town now. I live within a mile of a grocery store, so I walk. A few blocks from a laundry mat, and while a PITA to carry a heavy basket of clothes there and back, I walk. Not having a car has been kind of nice, as sitting on my ass all day working has made me grown soft compared to the days I did physical labor. At least walking is some exercise I'd not be getting otherwise.

I've been looking at old, 1970's motorcycles lately. Almost bought one for <$400 (Honda Cb450, 1975 I believe) a couple months ago that just needed some new brake lines and a new seat, and some TLC. I'm looking to get something this Spring and making it a project bike. I'd actually love to get a CB450 or something similar, I love the look of them when they're all done up nice like this:

1975-Honda-CB550-by-Seawead-and-Gravel-2.jpg

Honda-CB550-seat.jpg

That bike is pure sexy.
 
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tragic

Member
Verified Provider
My annual spending for gasoline is $0. The monthly cost to park a car here is more than it costs to rent an apartment in many cities.  $300-$800 for an outdoor parking space, $600-$1500 for a space in a parking garage with a roof. 
Geez, where do you live that it's so expensive?
 

Joodle

Member
Would love to post a photo of my bicycle i daily use(d) to go to the train station.. But it has been stolen a few weeks ago :(
 
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